There’s a chance the new Alfa Romeo Junior will help unlock the logjam of private buyers holding back from acquiring an electric car

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Car Reviewed: Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica

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Fortunately, there is a trend towards affordable electric cars with heart-and-soul to accompany their high efficiency – Renault has just launched new Renault 4 and 5 models, Ford is resurrecting the Capri name and both Mini and the Fiat 500 have pivoted to electric power.

Junior is also a revered back catalogue name from Alfa’s past, but this newest model is thoroughly 21st Century — a five-door, front-drive crossover, the high-roofed vehicles that have replaced superminis for singletons, young families and down-sizers.

Alfa is playing catch-up with these buyers as it phased out the Mito supermini and Giulietta hatchback at least four years ago, but will try to tempt them back with a four-model Junior range starting from £33,895 for the Elettrica entry-model.

We tested the mid-range £35,695 156 Elettrica Speciale model (lease from £399) and enjoyed a mad-cap track session in the range-topping £42,295 Veloce. Only recently, Alfa has confirmed the 2025 launch of a mild-hybrid ICE-engined Junior Ibrida powered by a 134bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine and promising 54mpg. It could become the cheapest model in the range, dropping below £30k, although pricing is TBC.

But what of the test Junior resplendent in its on-brand Brera Red paintwork and contrasting black roof?

Personally, I really like the styling and interior. There’s a swagger about the sweeping beltline that flows into a classic power bulge, while the face features moody details that reinterpret the classic Alfa ‘Biscioni’ shield grille in matt black mouldings. Many Alfisti have been shocked by this departure from convention, but it is time to move on?

Inside is a fully-featured cabin and dashboard full of detail, nice air vents, buttons for minor controls, a central touchscreen professionally integrated into the dashboard and a digital instrument cluster with graphics of traditional circular instruments. Some of the plastics are hard-surfaced, but the overall feel is rich and appealing and a welcome departure from the austere ‘plonk-on-a-flatscreen’ look.

The first thing you notice with the Junior on-road is the sense of isolation — a quiet and absorbent suspension with serene progress being made in the absence of noise from a combustion engine. Generally, electric cars do the quiet thing very well, but a number of those I’ve driven recently have a fidgety ride that refuses to settle. Not the Junior, which rolls with surprising sophistication.

In 156bhp Speciale specification, there’s sensible performance to ensure the Alfa Romeo Junior percolates along, but it is necessary to work the cockpit DNA control to achieve that. For the uninitiated, D (Dynamic), N (Natural), A (Advanced Efficiency) are three programmes, operated via a rocker switch, that control motor output, and for maximum performance D gives 156bhp, while N tempers that back to 110bhp to improve range. A further power reduction to 80bhp in A delivers secure progress in snow and ice.

Alfas have a reputation for balanced driving dynamics and the Junior carries on the tradition. The steering has a lovely responsiveness about the straight ahead, which translates into an eagerness to turn into corners, while body-roll is kept sensibly in check and all adds up to a rewarding drive.

Of course, there’s more excitement from the 280bhp Veloce model, with its extra 124bhp on tap, matched to a sportier chassis lowered by 25mm, wider track, uprated front and rear anti-roll bars, more direct steering, 20in wheels, plus a DNA control incorporating a stiffer suspension setting.

The Veloce is the natural enthusiast’s choice, but frustratingly we were limited to testing on a short, super-tight kart track, spiced-up by a treacherous wet surface. But this did prove the Veloce’s standard Torsen “D” limited-slip differential highly effective in maintaining traction in corners.

What’s hard to assess on a one-day test drive like this, is the vital range parameter. But we do know Alfa’s figures for the standard 54kWh battery pack, are 250 miles for the Elettrica models and 215 miles for the Veloce, which are fairly-typical for the latest crop of electric compact SUVs. The range around town for the Elettrica increases to 366 miles.

There’s certainly much to love in the new Junior as it sets new dynamic and emotional standards for electric crossovers. Whether that’s enough to sway buyers, and break that private buyer logjam, will emerge over the coming months, but Alfa Romeo has excelled itself in trying. Undoubtedly, the Junior deserves to succeed.